On the other hand, Tolkien’s books are the inspiration for an entire cottage industry of (mostly crappy, I’ll admit) fantasy novels. The imitators of LotR came out years before LotR did, in the form of Dungeons and Dragons: the Movie, Dragonheart, Dragonslayer, Reign of Fire, Star Wars trilogy, etc. etc. etc. And yes, there will be more.
Books. Books.
Not the movies.
The Matrix appealed to a tech-savy audience that already felt different and distant from reality. It struck a chord with a generation of computer-using geeks.
And as far as Star Wars is concerned, I wouldn’t list Tolkien as an inspiration. They were both working from the same Celtic oral traditions, but I would say they are unrelated. Read Iron John or Hero with a Thousand Faces sometime.
The movies had a chance to offer something new, but they didn’t. I can quote many lines from Conan the Barbarian. I can’t think of a single quote in either LOTR movies that makes any sense outside the context of the movies. (Except of course, the one about little people changing the world).
And you can’t deny the ****eroticism of LOTR. I read in Premeire that there is a gay scene in the books that was cut out of the movie scripts where Sam keeps trying 'touch" Frodo.
Well, the first movie only came out a little over a year ago - there hasn’t been much in the way of ‘quotes’ of say - the Balrog scene in that time because it’s harder to shoehorn an underground battle into an existing plot than it is a hovering rotating freezy frame of a front kick. I said there would be more imitators, and I’m sure there will be. Of the movies, when the time has elapsed to permit such a thing.
I’m curious what you think the movies might have offered in terms of ‘something new’ when they are an adaptation of a fifty or sixty year old work that is itself firmly in the tradition of the world’s oldest literature.
The theme of little people changing the world is indeed the most relevant part of the LotR, along with the corrupting nature of power - most of the other stuff implicit in the storyline I don’t really care for. The emphasis on kings and pure blood and noble birth and so on strikes me as elitist in the worst way. Even Frodo is a landed gentry type among hobbits, and Sam is his devoted crush…uh, I mean servant and companion.
As for quotability of one-liners - who cares? There’s nothing interesting about “there is no spoon” or “I know kung fu” that lasts for more than a couple of minutes. One is asinine, the other is laughable. Not much to be proud of there.
And heck yah there’s gay subtext in LotR, especially between the Hobbits. It’s just that I don’t find gay subtext reason to be dismissive of anything.
Oh yeah, Daredevil. To stay on topic, I’m still not interested in it.
Much truer to the mythos than I expected. Where it veared it help tighten the internal logic for the film… in much the same way Spiderman’s web shooters worked.
Almost too similar to BATMAN in some ways… not always good.
Bullseye was GREAT!!! his best line…
“I want a costume too!!!”
Ben did a suitable MATT MURDOCK, though the movie should’ve spent more time in the courtroom.
Foggy Nelson was awesome also!!!
and a nice camio from “Karen Page”
KINGPIN was excellent but thoroughly underused.
The KUNGFU was good fun, stayed fairly true to the charactor, using the billy club and such. Also some creative use of the Blind Kungfu and use of abilities.
Tons of tidbits for comic readers… Stan Lee makes his appearance as usual funny name droping and a cameo by Kevin Smith & FRANK MILLER!!!
The movie should have stayed rated R though… but ultimatley unrealisitic eh? Wasn’t to fond of the soundtrack though… too MTV?
Fair treatment of Elektra I suppose, lame costume. I liked how beatened & bruised DD ended up… Nice use of FX, to visualize DD’s radar as well as his movement hrough the city…
They should totally do a Spiderman meets Daredevil movie!!!
BTW… there are 3 Batman projects in the works…
YEAR ONE with FRANK MILLAR & Aronofsky.
and BATMAN vs. SUPERMAN as well as BATMAN 5 with “Memento” and “Insomnia” director Chris Nolan.
Well i went to go see it this weekend despite my insticts to just stay away from it. Being a die hard but not obsessive comic book fan i am always skeptical of comics made in to motion picture.
Well what can i say about daredevil? I thought that the character developement SUCKED,with exception to afflecks character. the supporting cast SUCKED.
Two Major inconsistancies i noted.
The KingPin, in the comics, was a real bad and sinister and HUGE white dude. we have micheal clark duncan playing the role.
now i am not a racist by an means,i just wish that these directors would remain consistant and ACCURATE to the portrayel of these characters ESPECIALLY the villians. Clarks role whereas he was big and i m sure they couldnt find a big enough white dude to play the role(for accuracy) really didnt intimidate me at all. i went in expecting to be really impressed by the king pin as i was in the comics and was VERY dissapointed. Clarke wasnt sinister enough or in my opinion played the role well at all. its not a black and white thing at all,its a character thing. if clark had really put some villiany in to the role he might have been able to do the king pin of the comics justice regardless of accuracy of looks and such.
Electra: electra was my favorite female comic character in the marvel genre’ and they made her out to be this little priss who had alittle bit of fighting talent,that was NOT her charatcer in the comics at all. ELECTRA was an Amer/asian woman with long JET BLACK hair and was not an easy woman to hurt at all. her focus was the KINGPIN in the comics. and they had to KILL her off in the first movie? that was equally dissapointing as it was depressing.
fight scenes: too fast and choppy,(they SUCKED). these actors need to take some lessons from jacky chan or jet li or somethin to better portray the vigilante good guy and the bad guy villians.
and get in to better shape for it.
Bullseye: WTF??? huh? whu??? thats all im gonna say about that. Collin farrel is a bettr “Recruit” than he is a villian.
Over all the movie was entertaining to some degree,but hardly comparable to the XMEN or Spider man ,and whereas there was some weaknesses in those two movies they were still great to watch and the developement of the charatcers was good.
i anxiously await XMEN2(seen the trailers,looks awesome)
and one of my other favorite comic characters the HULK,from what i can tell of the trailers to the HULK it looks to be just as interesting if probably not BETTER than what we have seen with daredevil,and in the past when they have made “the Punisher”
and of course hahah “Batman” which is DC comics and DC comics SUCK. heh heh.
anyway theres my take on it guys. waddaya think am i critic material,have a found my new calling?
MRTWS
Daredevil, again which I thought was a excellent movie, showed much more respect for the source material than did Spider-Man, an example would be that spider man never had organic web shooters.
Garner was solid as Elecktra, her acting was much better than any of the other female leads I have seen in superhero movies so far, her fight scene was dark and nasty, and I can see why she is going to get a spin-off movie.
The movie-fu was also cool, a nice blend of different smash mouth elements, stickfighting, flexible weapons, cane, projecticles, tons of superhero gymnastics.
I am looking forward to the next batch of marvel flicks in 04 and 05. Hulk, X2, Hellboy, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, Dr. Strange, Punisher, and Iron Man by New Line.
As well as DD2 and the Elecktra spin-off. I just wish they would come out with a Avengers movie
That’s lame. IMO, the death of electra issue was the high point of the Miller Daredevil issues, and bringing her back was only cool because of stick and shaft and the rest of the characters the ninja characters in that series, which still didn’t make it nearly as good as the issue where Bullseye killed her. That was like the pinnacle of Miller Daredevil.
Lame that the movie should follow suit. However, I’ll still see it, because it’s got the three characters and might have a moment or two from that issue(#181, to show my geekhood).
Sorry, one of the two pinnacles of Miller Daredevil: the one where Bullseye’s tumor has him seeing Daredevil’s everywhere is great as well. The first adult oriented comic I ever read. I can still picture bullseye going nuts on the folk on the street.
Daredevil’s worth seeing… it was great fun & I loved seeing it onscreen.
Excellent Design as well… and some cool extras ala organic webspinners.
I was actually Shocked that they took the storyline as far as Elektra’s death. I figured if anything they would finght, she would get slapped down and goe off to (Leaving DD behind) learn how to become a better assassin.
Still ton’s of little tidbits for the devoted reader… Keep an eye out for “swing” scenes nicked directly from pin-up art and various issues
they did the same thing with Spiderman… wonder how many noticed the differences between the Macfarlinesque, Romatiaesque and Ditkoesque swings presented as continual sequences…
…would analyze at spiderman swings while other talk about j-lo.
I’m looking forward to seeing Jennifer Garner on the big screen. I’ve been a fan of hers from Alias. She’s one of the few fight scene queens that looks somewhat convincing in battle. Buffy always looked like she was going to break her wrist when she punched…
Remember when he meets her, he asks about her necklace and she says its a good luck charm and he asks if they make them in brail. At the end of the movie, he finds a necklace at his favorite spot on the building, written in BRAIL. She lived. Not to mention they are talking about making a spin off movie starring her.
Originally posted by PHILBERT
[B]sigh, I hate how everyone says “She died.”
SHE DID NOT DIE.
Remember when he meets her, he asks about her necklace and she says its a good luck charm and he asks if they make them in brail. At the end of the movie, he finds a necklace at his favorite spot on the building, written in BRAIL. She lived. Not to mention they are talking about making a spin off movie starring her. [/B]
Oh yea i forgot about the necklace!!!
And kung fu guy you got ripped off!!! :o
well… she could’ve hung that necklace up in that spot at any time before her “death” … beside how are they going to resurect her as an undead Ninja assassin if she wasn’t killed?
you’know there’s another thread about this floating 'round somewhere…
why did they do it? why? They forgot a key part of the story mainly DD mentor and martial arts teacher “Stick” the guy who tought him how to use the cane and flipping around and all the other ninja stuff without him the story or rather the parts when he’s jumping from buildings make no sence!!!
Yea i was wonderin how the hell he could do all that MA stuff…
They didn’t say he was trained in the movie.. and when he fights the girl(forgot her name) he uses all these moves… pretty crazy…
Originally posted by Design Sifu
[B]well… she could’ve hung that necklace up in that spot at any time before her “death” … beside how are they going to resurect her as an undead Ninja assassin if she wasn’t killed?
you’know there’s another thread about this floating 'round somewhere… [/B]
Well, it would had to of been done pretty fast tossing that necklace there, considering when he told her, that night he boinked her, then the next night she was “killed” by Bullseye. And we know how fast women are at shopping.
funny name droping and a cameo by Kevin Smith 
